botches; botched; botching
: to do (something) badly : to ruin (something) because of carelessness or a lack of skill
The store botched the order—I received only half the books I paid for.
They clearly botched the investigation.
a botched robbery/experiment
—sometimes + upHe really botched up [=messed up] the speech.
plural botches
: a bad job : a poorly done piece of work
a botch job
The plumbers made a botch of the pipes. [=the plumbers did a poor job with the pipes]
Cite this Entry
“Botch.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/botch. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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